The New Jersey Foodhound™

The typical American supermarket: rows and rows of the same boring fruits, vegetables and assorted grocery items. A small fish/meat counter with the familiar cuts of sad looking salmon, chicken and beef. Familiar breads, cereals, maybe a natural aisle if you are lucky. Same old, same old. Imagine if your weekly grocery shopping was a global adventure packed into one store, with novel, well priced products at every turn. Food Bazaar , located in Fairview, NJ (among other locations) gives you this experience and so much more. If you are chef, a foodie, an immigrant looking for a taste of home or all three - this store will win you over. If he were still with us, I would like to think this would be Anthony Bourdain's dream supermarket. At its inception, founder Francis An "discovered that the needs of the minorities and immigrants were largely being ignored by most mainstream businesses in New York, especially supermarkets," leading to a multicultural store that serve...

Before we even moved to the area, my girlfriend and I would explore Bergen and Hudson county for food as a diverse and cost effective alternative to NYC. In doing so, we happened upon what is now, arguably our favorite Korean restaurant. Now, there is no shortage of good Korean fare in the area to be sure, but when it comes to the combination of flavor, consistency, service and overall satisfaction, So Gong Dong Tofu and BBQ comes out on top. The Grub: First off, there are a lot of things that I would suggest ordering here. The menu is a delightful arrangement of flavors and textures that speak to the Korean desire to satisfy whatever it is you might be craving. Every meal starts with the 6 house banchan (side dishes) - spicy pickled cucumbers, fried fish cake, pickled seaweed, pickled radish, kimchi and pickled bean sprouts, all of which are excellent. We usually end up blowing clean through a first serving and ordering a second. SGD also offers a few appetizers ...

Its no secret that I spend a lot of time eating in Fort Lee. Not only because it's a short drive from my house, but also because the food options are diverse and consistently good. Adding to that list is probably my favorite fried chicken joint of all time - Boom Boom Chicken . Give it a try just once and you'll know why I choose it above all others - and I have a feeling you will too. The Grub: What do they offer at Boom Boom Chicken you ask? Well, Korean fried chicken of course, and lots of it! Wings, legs, combos, popcorn chicken, whole fried chicken, you name it they have it. Every last piece is cooked to amazing, crispy-crunchy perfection and (if you choose) slathered with one of their delicious sauces. If you stop in for lunch you can partake in one of their lunch specials, which includes fried chicken (any style) along with a side of rice or fries and a small salad. If you stop by for dinner, they still offer a combo option but you have to pay $2 mor...

Oh shabu-shabu, I'm so glad I found you. What the hot pot has provided us before, you have certainly perfected. Never have I experienced dining that is at the same time so communal and yet so personal. Crafting your own special bowl of bubbling soupy goodness with vegetables, meats and noodles galore, there are few things I find myself craving more. Look at me, getting mildly poetic. The Grub: For the uninitiated, shabu-shabu is a meal consisting of your own personal bowl of boiling hot broth, with a myriad of vegetables, fish bites, noodles and dumplings you throw in, along with thinly sliced meat or fresh seafood. Once you cook everything to your liking, there are sauces, oh so many sauces to dip your cooked goodies into. Then, you can get crazy and combine the sauces to create even more flavors - it is truly some of the most fun you can have dining in my opinion. Pay a set price for your broth, then have at the unlimited wall of noodles, dumplings, vegetables, ...

One night shortly after we moved to the area, my girlfriend and I were in the mood to try some soba noodles. While there were, as luck would have it, a number of establishments offering these tasty noodles, we happened to pick this lovely little spot and never looked back. I can truly say it is one of my favorites in Fort Lee. The Grub: The menu here is large and ever changing - to be honest they have multiple. If you've never been here before this may seem a bit daunting but, take your time and look over everything. They have an appetizer menu, a soba menu, a udon menu, a seasonal menu and a specials menu - and maybe a few more that I forgot. Since I have been going here for the better part of 3 years I have tried a lot of their food and can say with confidence its nearly all good. Meals always start off with green tea or water and a little box of fried noodles. I typically order an addictive cucumber appetizer or salted cabbage, while my girlfriend goes for th...